Understanding 2 Chronicles 7:14

by James Banfield

In order to understand 2 Chronicles 7:14 we first must read 2 Chronicles 6:1-42 In it it says that Solomon had finished the Temple and was ready to dedicate it to the Lord. So he had built this great altar and stood upon it and then bent down to his knee and gave a mighty prayer to the Lord in front of all the representatives of the Nation of Israel. He was actually putting the Lord on the spot. He said boldly “Ok Lord, here I am, and look what I have done. You told my father David that it would not be him that would build the Temple but his son, me. And so I did. Now Lord, If your people rebell against you but turn and repent from the sin against you, will you hear from heaven? If your people humble themselves before you, will you hear them? And what if your people turn towards this place and seek the truth and come to you, will you hear? And what if the wicked or even those who are not of our Hebrew Nation will turn towards this place and pray .. will you listen? When Solomon had made an end to his prayer.. The Lord did a mighty thing! POOF! A Fire came down and burnt up the Offering and then the smoke of the Lord inhabited the Temple and it was so thick that the Priests couldn't even enter into the place. Then Solomon began the sacrifices day and night for 7 days! Thousands of animals were sacrificed in dedicating the Temple. Then on the 8^th day …

12 And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, “I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

17 And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;

18 Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.

19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;

20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house?

22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

I know that you see a whole lot already, but there is more within 7:14 … lets dissect it piecemeal and see if we can see who this scripture is really for?

1. “If My People” we can see this applies to all who Claim to be God's people be it God the Father, God, the Son, or God the Holy Ghost. WE are all familiar with John 1 and so with that information at hand we can safely say, that God who is speaking to Solomon was the Son because it was the Son who created everything, including his people, the apple of his eye. This also says that the people he is addressing know Him. “If My People”. For how could they know Him if they do not acknowledge Him?

2. Let's go on … “Who are called by My Name” Not only do they know Him, but they are called by His Name. And who are they that are called by God's Name? We know the Son is Christ so naturally “Christians” are called by His Name. But what about the Jews? Remember that 2 Chronicles 7:14 dates back through the Old Testament and Solomon's day. Not in the New Testament day, so that means that during Sololmon's Day they were Still “His People” who were the Hebrews.

3. “Shall humble themselves” The Lord is looking for humbleness from His People, not pride, not I am better than you attitude,but of humbleness. What the Lord is beginning to do here is answer Solomon's prayer he did on the Altar verbatum! Step by Step to let Solomon know that HE indeed heard Solomon's Prayer and by way of the Smoke that took over the Temple was accepted by the Lord Himself. So here when the Lord says, “Shall Humble themselves” he wants them to be humble before Him.

4. “And Pray” Pray? Yeah, come to the Lord with a contrite heart, a humble heart and pray and ask that which needs to be done. He promises that He will be listening

5. “And Seek My Face” That phrase doesnt seem like much does it? But it says a lot! Seeking His Face is seeking the Truth. Always seek the truth. Especially in this day with so much being spread through deception and lies, you need to use “The Spirit of Discernment” in all things.

6. “And Turn from their wicked ways” ouch! The Lord is saying that wickedness is abounding in all forms before him, and he wants His People to turnback to him?

7. After these 4 things which the Lord requires of us, then He promises that He will do the next three.

8. “Then will I hear from Heaven” Did you get that? THEN will I hear from heaven! He is telling us that He is not hearing us and will not hear us until we do these 5 things a) Be called as one of His People b) Humble themselves in the sight of the Lord c) Pray <for Real – not being obligatory but being real with Him> d) Seek His Face – Really seek the truth in the matter he will not stir you wrong. e) Turn from your wicked ways he wants repentance, so that He can forgive our sins … but when pride gets in the way it all gets messed up. Once these things are done, HE guarantees that He will listen to us from Heaven and

9. “I will forgive their sin” Only God has the authority to forgive sin which he does on a scales never before seen

10. Finally, “I will heal Your Land” and then we get right with Lord and continue on in His Good Graces and live a right life and be used of Him for His good pleasure.

This is really Good News and it is “HOPE” for real but who is too? To the Hebrews? Sure it is, To the non-existent Christians who will be coming a few hundred years later? Yep. But it still doesn't really answer the question... The Real answer is …. It is to the backslidders! Those who were counted as being with him, but somehow drifted away.. Why else would He say, “Turn Back from your Wicked Ways? In otherwords they were with Him once but turned their back on the Lord and the Lord wants them to “Turn back to Him” And who are the backslidders? Jews, Gentile, Hebrew and Christians. Yes for in one case or another we have all come to a place where we needed to turn back to Him. Amen?

So now when you read 2 Chronicles 7:14 it might read a little differently to you this next time. The Lord is always reaching out for his sheep. Bet on it …

In Him,

James Banfield